Space Planning

In continuing our series on retail design, this week I thought we would take a look at a few ways to optimize your retail space. Whether you run a small specialty boutique or a large discount warehouse, it is important to consider customer flow and product placement in order to utilize the space to its full potential and help drive sales.

There are three areas that are important to keep in mind when you are planning the layout of your store:

1. Entrance
2. Sales floor
3. Check out area

Specialty retail is a very competitive field and with so many other stores vying for a shopper's attention it is important to have an enticing entrance. Well executed window displays will often give a customer a nice glimpse of what they can expect to see in your store. Once you get their attention, it is important that the entrance be spacious to avoid the bottleneck effect that comes with funneling too many customers through an opening that is too small. While it may make sense to place your best products at the entrance, research done by Envirosell, a company that studies customer behavior, have shown that these items often get overlooked by shoppers eager to get inside the store. As people have the natural tendency to go right when they enter a space, better placement for these products would be about 15 steps in on the right side. This will allow the customer enough time to gain their bearings of the space and begin the shopping process.

When laying out the sales floor, it is important to consider the main circulation path that customers will take as they walk through the space. A well thought out path will lead shoppers through the most important departments of the store and prevent areas from being under-shopped. The type of circulation path that you use will depend on what your store is selling, but it ultimately comes down to making people comfortable as they shop in your store. If a shopper is confused and overwhelmed by your space, it is likely that they will turn around and walk out pretty quickly, leading to a lost potential sale. Customers that are engaged and find it easy to locate the products they are looking for will often shop longer and purchase more.

While there are a number of circulation path layouts that can be utilized, here are a few of the most common:

• Pathway: This plan is great for clothing stores, as it easily moves the customer toward the back of the store on a path that is unobstructed by fixtures.
• Hub and Spoke: This plan features a clear anchor point with pathways branching off into various areas of the store.
• Varied: This plan works well in stores that primarily display their products on the wall, such as shoe and jewelry/accessory stores. It draws attention to special displays areas and showcases wall displays.
• Straight: This plan leads the customer to the back of the store by dividing main areas with walls to display merchandise, making it great for a variety of stores.
• Loop: This plan works great for grocery stores, as it leads the customer through all of the major areas of the store and encourages impulse shopping.

The circulation path you choose will often dictate where you place your check out area. Customers should have a clear understanding of where they need to go to complete their purchase, and in many cases, it is important to provide a sense of privacy during the transaction. As technology continues to evolve, many retailers are moving away from providing a physical cash wrap to complete the sale and equipping their sales team with hand held devices capable of doing the job of a traditional cash register--and often faster. This allows associates to move freely about the store, making them more accessible to the customer.

A few more things to consider during the space planning process...

1. Pace: In order for a customer to enjoy their experience at your store, they must be the one to set the pace at which they shop. Providing areas for customers who wish to shop longer and at a slower pace, as well as accommodations for those that need to get in and out of the store quickly, will ensure that everyone is satisfied.

2. Product Placement: The placement of merchandise throughout your store must make sense to your customer. However, what makes sense to one person may not make sense to the next and this is where cross merchandising--placing the same product in different areas throughout the store--helps to make products easy to find while decreasing customer confusion (and frustration).

3. Building Codes: As building codes can vary significantly from one city to the next, it is important to know the codes in your area before investing valuable time and money into a space plan that doesn't meet all of the requirements.

4. Market: Know the market you are trying to reach and set a limit on how much product you will display at any given time. Crowded stores often reflect lower prices, while fewer products on display typically gives a higher-end feel.

5. Flexibility: Make a plan that is flexible and can be changed around easily without tearing the entire store apart. This will not only save your staff time but will also save you money.

6. Privacy: Give your customers enough room to move. Avoid stressful situations for your shoppers by providing space that is out of the flow of traffic where they can make buying decisions without being interrupted.

What tips do you have on creating a successful retail space plan? Have you found that a particular type of circulation path leads to increased sales? Let us know in the comments below!

sources: one.two.three.four.five.six